Saving Snivellus
by Atana
Summary: The sequel to A Joke Gone Wrong. What happens to Severus Snape and the Marauders after that nasty prank?
1. Default Chapter

Saving Snivellus  
  
By Atana  
  
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Another angst art alert! I just finished a picture of Albus and young Severus that -- sniff -- really -- had -- me -- looking around -- for Kleenex -- ! Anyway, it will be posted tomorrow on my website (check my biography page for the link) for you all to see, along with a LOT of new art for both my Severus stories and the Snips and Spirals stories.  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed Saving Snivellus. Quite a few of you pointed out that James changed his mind about Sev too quickly -- thank you for that feedback. Hopefully, all will be explained in my next story in the series. It throws a couple of BIG monkey wrenches into their relationship. But I don't want to spoil it!  
  
I liked Lily in this, too. And in spite of what everyone says, she will still insist on being Sev's lab partner in Potions!  
  
Thanks to everyone from Atana Potinija!  
  
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The characters in this story belong to J.K. Rowling and not to me. This fanfic is for entertainment only and not for profit. This work is dedicated to Sarah, who kept nagging me to read the Harry Potter books until I finally did. Responses to comments are found at the end of this chapter. PG-13, no slash, no sex. Major angst warning!  
  
Chapter 1 –Regrets  
  
Remus Lupin shivered in the cold air, watching Dumbledore and Severus making their way toward them.   
  
He was heartened to see that people were greeting Snape and making a fuss over him -- nobody ever did that for poor old Snivelly. The kid had even smiled back at them. Students as utterly unlovable and untouchable as Severus seemed rarely smiled at anyone, for any reason.  
  
Remus stood behind Professor Sejanus Sartoris, Potions Master, and Professor McGonagall and tried to keep from getting underfoot. He overheard several of the adults talking, and learned that something was wrong with Snape's leg. He was being carried inside now, adults and children alike stepping back to permit them to pass.  
  
"He doesn't look very good, does he?" a second-year Slytherin asked Lucius Malfoy, who continued to stand and watch, his face a carefully-arranged blank mask.   
  
The night wind feathered his long white blonde hair over his green and white scarf and dark cloak. "Those damned Gryffs almost killed Snips," Malfoy said. "How do you expect him to look?"   
  
Remus slipped past the older Malfoy and the Slytherins who had awaited the lost boy's return. They were a shifty bunch, although he couldn't say much for his own Gryffindor friends at this stage of the game.   
  
It was a dark night for the Marauders, all right. Remus knew that as soon as Severus began telling his tale, it was the Headmaster's Office for all of them.   
  
Lupin's heart was sore. He had been the one to gather up Snape's abandoned possessions, with the intention of keeping them safe for him. The memory of Snape's mindless and horrified shriek continued to send chills of dread down his spine.   
  
Why, James and Sirius?   
  
Lupin already knew the answers.  
  
The girl James had his eye on for some time had shot him right down. All that disappointment and embarrassment had to go somewhere, didn't it? And what harm did it do to play a little joke on Snivellus, that depressed and ugly child whose parents never even visited him?   
  
Sirius Black's reasons had been a bit more obscure. There had been talk about Black's old man taking out his rage onto Sirius; perhaps that is what fueled Black's hostile and aggressive treatment of Snivelly. If Black had been struck, Snape would be struck harder. In shaming him, Sirius would expiate his own shame.   
  
It was one thing to know all of this, and another to tell.   
  
Really, what else could Lupin have possibly done?  
  
He had seen a small group of first-year students (most likely Hufflepuffs with their exaggerated sense of duty) make a dash for the Castle after watching Severus' ceremonial debagging. Remus was pretty sure they had been the first to tell. A little later, and before dinner had been served, Lupin himself had paid a visit to his own Head of House and had told Professor McGonagall what had happened. She had tried to find Snape, but without success. Fearful for the boy's state of mind as well as his safety, she had informed the Headmaster and Remus had retold his tale, hugging onto Snape's book bag as if it had been the missing boy himself.   
  
He supposed he had ratted out his own friends. He felt bad about it, but he'd felt even worse about what had happened to Snivellus.   
  
Really, it had been too much. It went way beyond their occasional hex match or fistfight or insult swap. Remus didn't know what he would have done if he'd been humiliated in such a manner. After all, any fifteen-year-old boy would have been traumatized by it. And Severus Snape hated no one more than himself, although he would never admit it. Remus felt that his unkempt appearance wasn't due to laziness, but due to the overwhelming feeling that he just wasn't worth the effort. Such a prank would have hit him doubly hard.  
  
Remus could identify with that; he really could. His own life had been ruined when he'd suffered the poisonous bite of the werewolf. Why couldn't his parents have looked after him better? Lupin's own youthful joy had always been overshadowed by the sure knowledge that he would suffer greatly when the moon reached full blossom.   
  
He could understand why the Slytherin boy never ran or played games or laughed out loud. Instead of a werewolf's toxic bite, Snape had suffered at the hands of a parent who should have loved and protected him but never would. The wounds from such betrayal cut deep.   
  
Hiding his tears, hiding his bruises, hiding his shame. Snape had become quite adroit at hiding. It wasn't as bad as what happened to Remus Lupin once a month, but it was bad enough.   
  
All a person could do right now is wait for the blow to fall. And fall it would, right on the heads of the Merry Marauders.   
  
Sighing, Remus Lupin entered the Castle. He had the feeling that tomorrow would be a long day.  
  
==================================== 


	2. Ch 2 Dies Irae

Chapter 2 – Dies Irae  
  
The next day proved worse than Lupin thought. Of course, he wasn't an athlete or popular, so it stung him less than it had Potter and Black.  
  
Forty House points deducted from the Gryffindor total.  
  
For each Marauder.  
  
Detention with Professor Sartoris every single day for six consecutive weeks.  
  
For each Marauder. No excuses accepted, which meant that both Potter and Black would be cut from the Quidditch team for the remainder of the season.  
  
Professor McGonagall sympathized, but did not relent. Putting another student's life in danger mandated such a harsh punishment. She had also asked them whether they would have enjoyed the emotional torture they had inflicted upon young Severus. The boys only could blush and avoid her steely gaze. One did not discuss topics such as debagging classmates with a teacher, and a woman teacher at that.  
  
The lunchtime discussion at the Gryffindor tables allowed a full venting of alternative points of view. Sirius felt that since Snivelly got in their way, he deserved what he got. James was of the opinion that the amusement value of the upending was well worth Snape's embarrassment. Most of the other Gryffs, however, felt that their two Housemates were full-blown idiots who would never make up for the sudden and drastic shortfall in points.  
  
What really stuck in everybody's craw was that Slytherin House was now in first place for the House Cup.  
  
-----------------  
  
Sirius Black was absolutely furious. He swore under his breath the entire length of the long hallway as he strode. It was good that nobody was there to overhear him.  
  
It was more likely than not that McGonagall and the Headmaster had themselves a little meeting before her calling the four boys to her classroom. Nice, gentle, kindly Uncle Dumbledore, who had gone out galloping around the Forbidden Forest looking for that nasty Slytherin brat while risking his own life and limb!  
  
That nasty prat had been brought back to the Castle like a royal prince. Sirius had heard that the house elves had knocked themselves out stuffing the little jerk with food. And then came an overnight at the Infirmary, for Heaven's sweet sake, all for an injured ankle and a bit of a chill! Dumbledore probably tucked him into bed with a lollipop!  
  
Still swearing, Black rounded the corner and collided with Severus Snape.  
  
Both boys went down with a crash.  
  
"Clumsy fool!" spat Severus.  
  
"Clumsy? Wasn't me who failed to make the Quidditch team for five consecutive years!"  
  
"It's bad enough you idiots broke my ankle. Are you going for a new record?"  
  
"We didn't break your ankle, snake-boy! You broke it yourself running around the woods like the big sniveling baby you are."  
  
"Best watch where you're going," Snape said in his quietest and deadliest voice. "You're in enough trouble as it is."  
  
Black gasped. Imagine, that greasy-headed slimeball talking to him like that! Who did he think he was? "You haven't exactly been given the Gold Key to the Crapper, Snivellus. You're still the biggest loser in school and everybody knows it!"  
  
"Get bent, Black," the Slytherin growled, picking up his books and dusting off his robes. "And thanks for the House points!"  
  
*Oh no, Snivelly me bucko, ohhhhhhh no indeed. Time to twist the proverbial knife! *  
  
"I hear Daddy Dearest was here this morning," Black said with a beatific smile. "I hear he wasn't too pleased that his own brave lad first gave the entire school a free peek at his skinny ass and then ran away bawling like a little girl." Of course, Sirius knew nothing of the kind, but long experience had given him more than enough ammunition of that sort in the Snivelly Department.  
  
"Shut your mouth," Snape hissed.  
  
Black grinned. "He's proud as punch of you, I'll bet!"  
  
Severus' father had found out about the incident through his brother-in- law. Two of young Snape's cousins, Rastaban and Rodolphus Lestrange, were in Slytherin House and had naturally informed the family about what had happened. The Elder Snape had made it from Nottingham to Hogwarts in record time, making a beeline for the Headmaster's Office and demanding to be seen. Surely his own flesh and blood hadn't allowed such a prank to be played on him! Surely his own flesh and blood didn't run away and require rescue!  
  
The meeting between Dumbledore and Snape Senior hadn't gone well. Severus knew this because his father had told him so. He had also told him that he continued to be a disappointment, a disgrace, and a black mark against the House of Snape, and that unless he wanted a couple of rounds of the ol' Cruciatus as well as the horsewhip next time he came home for a little visit, he had better not say or do anything that might further anger his father.  
  
The Elder Snape hadn't been gauche enough to punch out his son in front of the Headmaster, but he had picked him up by the throat and tossed him across his bedroom in Slytherin Tower a couple of times. He left rather prominent marks on the boy's neck. Severus had covered them up immediately with a glamourie charm, but the deep bruises they had inflicted thudded painfully with every beat of the boy's frightened heart.  
  
Sirius Black grinned into Snape's suddenly solemn face. "Let's count your teeth, Snivelly, to see how many Dads knocked out this morning!"  
  
Quelling his panic, Snape did his best to change the subject. "You and your lionhearted friends are lucky not to have gotten expelled, Black."  
  
"Oh, please," Sirius shouted. "As if we'd be expelled for the likes of you! You're a joke, Snivellus. You fail at everything you try, you're about as charming as a thestral, and your face could stop a Muggle clock. Remember, boy, that both our Headmaster and Assistant Headmaster are Gryffindor. Slytherin gits like you tend to forget that."  
  
"Just stay out of my way," Severus retorted, fingering his wand. "unless you'd like your ass where your head should be. As if anyone could tell the difference."  
  
Time to end it. Sirius stepped closer to Snape.  
  
"Listen to me, you sneaky little dark-arts creep! You are a hair's breadth away from becoming a grease spot on the floor. Because that is what will be left of you if our dear Headmaster or our dear Head-of-House comes out with one -- more -- edict -- " Black's handsome face was contorted in a snarl " -- one -- more -- way for us to suffer because you plague our school -- and that's OUR school, you worthless little turd -- with your presence -- " Snape shrieked in pain as Black's fingers shot out and twisted, then tightened around the hair in front of his temple --"If I hear that you've gone to Dumbledore or McGonagall with anything even resembling a complaint about me and my friends -- then I will rip your heart right out of your chest. Do you understand, you slimy little freak?"  
  
"Let -- go -- of -- me," Snape growled in a whisper that was somehow more chilling than a shout.  
  
Sirius' face blossomed into a terrible mockery of a smile. "Why, of course!" Black pointed Severus toward the gray schist wall, then rammed his face against it so hard that he heard the pop as the cartilage in the boy's nose gave way. Snape gave a horrified howl and doubled over, trying to staunch the stream of blood that poured over his hands.  
  
"I want you to remember something, Snivelly," Black hissed. "And mind you, put it somewhere in that cesspit that passes for a brain so that it stays safe. Every beating – every awful, nightmarish atrocity you ever suffered at the hands of your old man -- " Severus' eyes widened in shock -- "every single one -- was deserved. I'm just sorry that the old bastard didn't finish you off a long time ago. It would have spared everyone so much trouble!"  
  
Severus used every bit of his self-control to hide the panic that now trip hammered his heart.  
  
Sirius' fist tightened in Snape's hair. "Stop bothering Dumbledore and McGonagall. They don't give a damn about you! Everyone here hates you. EVERYONE. WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Do us all a favor and just die, won't you?"  
  
Untangling his fingers from the boy's black hair, Sirius took the heels of both hands and shoved Snape away from him. The Slytherin fell to the cold flagstones, then curled into a ball and protected his head, leaving a nasty arc of blood across the floor.  
  
Fighting the urge to kick in his ribs, Black snarled, turned, and strode down the hall, making his way to the Gryffindor common room. 


	3. Ch 3 The Hospital Wing

Chapter 3 – The Hospital Wing  
  
Five minutes hadn't elapsed before half the school knew that Sirius Black had beaten up Severus Snape, and that the Slytherin was back in the Hospital Wing for the second time in less than twelve hours.  
  
Severus had tried to ignore the injury, heading for his Transfiguration Class with his sleeve to his nose.  
  
Professor McGonagall took one look at him (he was dripping blood on her floor, after all) and shooed him off to the Infirmary. She watched the boy leave, and then thought better of it. "I want everyone to review the material concerning transfiguring ottomans to oxen," the witch solemnly intoned. "I shall return forthwith."  
  
Much to his embarrassment, Severus saw that he now had a faculty escort.  
  
"How did this happen, Mr. Snape?" McGonagall asked curtly.  
  
"Deber bind aboud it," he responded, pushing his luck. "I'b fine."  
  
"Nonsense, Mr. Snape. I have asked you a civil question and I expect a civil answer from you."  
  
Severus dropped his head and kept silent as they walked.  
  
"Hold," McGonagall said, coming to a sudden halt and stopping Snape by grasping the sleeve of his robe. "Answer me this, then. Did your father hurt you?"  
  
Snape looked her straight in the eye. "He did, dow dat you bention id. But he didn't bweak by dose. Ad deast today."  
  
"Good heavens, child, are you telling me your father has broken your nose in the past?"  
  
"Id doesn't batter," Severus said. "Siwius Bwack broke id today, if dat's what you're after."  
  
Beside herself with a maternal mix of avenging anger and sudden pity for the boy she accompanied, she kept hold of Severus' sleeve and smartly propelled him forward.  
  
"Of course it matters," she retorted, clinching it.  
  
------------------  
  
"Now what's this, Minerva?" asked Nurse Pomfrey. "I just discharged this child this morning."  
  
"I'm sure that's quite true, Poppy, but as you can see young Mr. Snape now sports a broken nose."  
  
"The same pack of boys then, is it, Minerva?" She wedged Snape's head under her arm and dragged him near a window to get a better look.  
  
"Sirius Black, at any rate," Professor McGonagall replied. "I must be off to my class, and will take up the appropriate punishment with that young man afterward."  
  
"Wait, Minerva," Poppy called, waving her wand at the witch. "That's better. Bloodstains on one's robes are not conducive to the educational process."  
  
McGonagall smiled, then turned and left.  
  
Nurse Pomfrey dragged Severus over to a bed, pushing him onto it, and then tilting his head back. "Here, lie down but don't let the blood choke you. I need to get the appropriate supplies."  
  
Severus lay down and tried to calm himself. He was on the verge of tears, and dared not relinquish his control. It was bad enough that he'd cried in front of Pomfrey when she'd set his ankle last night.  
  
*Shut your mouth and stop that sniveling you damned crybaby or I'll give you something to cry about*  
  
He shook his head, alarmed by the memory of his father's harsh voice in his head. His head was beginning to throb in time with the throbbing of his mashed nose. Snuffling up as much blood as he could, he waited.  
  
Pomfrey returned with a bottle of drops and some bandaging. Slapping them down on the bed, she then loomed over him, a stern look on her face.  
  
"Release the charm, Mr. Snape."  
  
"Whad charb?" the boy replied.  
  
"The glamourie you're using. I'm wise to your tricks after all, young man."  
  
Severus shrugged and murmured a few words. Several reddish-purple rings of bruises showed up on his neck.  
  
"I need not ask who inflicted these! I believe I saw him with the Headmaster this morning. He has no right whatsoever to harm you, Severus. I do wish you had told somebody about this."  
  
"Id's dot dat simble," Severus responded, shoving his grief and shame deep down. "I would hab gotten id worse next tibe."  
  
Poppy sighed. "Poor child. Well, I intend to tell, so you won't have to worry about retaliation. What I couldn't say about that man! Dark wizard or not, somebody needs to stop him."  
  
Severus rolled his eyes. Really, the nurse was so innocent to think that somebody other than Tom Riddle had the ability to stop his father from doing anything! She apparently had no idea of what kind of dark magic he was capable. He then squeezed his eyes shut. His head was really throbbing now. He felt the nurse tip his head backward; his mouth opened to allow him to breathe.  
  
"Just – a – few—drops – Mr. – Snape –"  
  
The drops felt soothing. Pomfrey then gently eased him up to a sitting position. "Let me put these healing bandages over your nose and neck, Severus. You might as well accept the fact that you're staying here for the day."  
  
"Bud I can'd!" Severus shouted to her as she worked. "Eberybuddy will dink I'b a baby."  
  
"They will not," she retorted, whisking away the supplies and tossing a wad at him which turned out to be clean pajamas. Whirling about, she waved her wand, causing draperies to appear suddenly from the ceiling and lower themselves around him.  
  
She then went over to her fireplace, bending toward it.  
  
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" she asked. Within a few seconds, the old man's face appeared. "I would like to discuss Severus Snape, please, when it's convenient."  
  
"Certainly, Poppy," he said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."  
  
Dressed in the soft cotton nightclothes, Severus lay down carefully, and was happy to realize that he was able to breathe through his nose. He was very tired and much stressed and the clean clothes and bedding felt good against his skin.  
  
Within a second's time Nurse Pomfrey waved away the draperies and put a warm blanket over him. She laid a cool hand to his forehead. "Cry it out, child," she admonished. "don't ever try to keep in that much pain. No good will come of it if you do!"  
  
Severus rolled away from her. Kindly or not, he still didn't want her to see him cry.  
  
------------------  
  
Albus Dumbledore was a man with troubles today.  
  
Severus' father had been no match for the most powerful wizard on the side of the Light, after all, but Albus had forgotten just how self-deluded the disciples of Tom Riddle could be. In the past, he hadn't been able to ask Snape point-blank why he abused his only child, and when the opportunity had presented itself today, Dumbledore took it. The discussion had gotten out of hand rather quickly after that.  
  
Snape had responded in the alternative. There was no abuse, or if there was, it was none of Dumbledore's business; or if there was, it was merited because the boy clearly needed some toughening up. Dumbledore had opined that toughening up did not include tearing the boy's self-esteem to pieces or using magic to cover up the damage he'd done. Before Albus knew it, the man had been on his feet with wand drawn, ready to take on the Headmaster.  
  
Fortunately, Rubeus Hagrid had chosen that moment to enter the room, breaking the visitor's concentration. Embarrassed beneath his vicious show of fury and indignation, Maldedictis Snape beat a hasty retreat, vowing that he would continue to handle his son's discipline without the help of the lily-livered cowards who ran Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And off he went, all ready to take out his aggression on Severus.  
  
And now, Albus massaged his temples to quell an incipient headache. He nodded a greeting to Poppy and they went into their little huddle.  
  
"I know there isn't a lot you can do about a parent, Albus, but you really do need to rein in that Sirius Black," she said in her usual curt manner.  
  
"Wait a bit, Poppy. First of all, what did Severus' father do to him?"  
  
"Throttled him."  
  
"Awful! Now what did Sirius Black do?"  
  
"According to Severus, he took him by the scruff and flattened his nose against a stone wall in one of the corridors. Minerva brought him up; the boy had tried to go to class with a mashed nose!"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. Sirius was one of his favorite students in Gryffindor House.  
  
Poppy kept on. "Imagine the Snape boy mixing it up with an athlete like Black! That poor child would blow away in a high wind! Honestly, Albus, if I – "  
  
He took Nurse Pomfrey's hands in his. "Thank you, Poppy. Let me take a moment to speak to Severus, and then I'll call Sirius out of class and get to the bottom of it."  
  
"As I knew you would," Pomfrey said with a nod. "Severus is over there in the corner."  
  
Dumbledore nodded once more, then went over to the bed in which Severus lay.  
  
At first, he thought that the boy was fast asleep; but then he saw two dark eyes looking at him over the top of a blanket. They were bright with admiration and thanks.  
  
"Did I wake you, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "I came to see how you were getting along."  
  
The sparkling eyes widened. "You came here just to see me?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Just to see you."  
  
The boy grinned. "I'm all right, sir," he said. "Just a bit tired is all."  
  
"That's my boy," Dumbledore said, tousling his hair. Severus' eyes danced with delight at the kind words. "You get some sleep now."  
  
"Yes, sir," the boy responded, closing his eyes with a contented sigh, his troubled heart lightened considerably.  
  
Albus' own heart, on the other hand, remained quite troubled enough for both of them.  
  
--------------  
  
"But – sir! I swear I didn't mean to start up with him again!"  
  
"Are you suggesting that he broke his own nose, Sirius?"  
  
The handsome Gryffindor paced back and forth in front of the Headmaster's desk. "I suppose I got a little hot under the collar, sir – but he ran into me in the corridor, and then he starts up with me! Trying to pick a fight if you know what I mean, sir!"  
  
Albus waved his hands. "Stop – just stop that pacing. Sit down, please."  
  
With a look of doom upon his face, Sirius sat down on the very edge of the nearest chair and awaited his fate.  
  
"It seems to me that this rivalry has gotten entirely out of hand. You're aware of Severus' situation at home. I realize he isn't the easiest person to get along with, Sirius, but neither are you. In the past day and a half, you and your friends have succeeded in terrorizing him so that he fled into a worse situation than the one he'd left -- I don't know how he managed to stay alive in the Forbidden Forest, but we are most fortunate that the story had a happy ending."  
  
Sirius shrugged ruefully.  
  
"How exactly am I going to owl his parents only to tell them their son's nose was broken not an hour after his release from the Hospital Wing?"  
  
Sirius dropped his head, then looked up with a hint of a smirk on his good- looking face. "Well -- it WAS a pretty big target, sir," he said, hoping to win a smile from the Headmaster.  
  
"Oh, please, Mr. Black," Albus snapped, not inclined to smile in the slightest. "Work with me on this. It doesn't help the situation a bit to behave in such a casual manner. I realize you're off the Quidditch team for the season and you're angry about it. But listen to me carefully, Sirius. I want you – and your friends – to stay as far away from Severus as you possibly can. Do you understand?"  
  
Sirius dropped his eyes. "Yes, sir."  
  
Silence.  
  
"If things go well over the next week or so, sir, do you suppose James and I might rejoin the team?"  
  
"That was Professor McGonagall's decision, and one not taken lightly. I will not overrule her in that regard. You may wish to plead your case yourself, but frankly, Sirius, your position isn't a strong one right now. In fact, your behavior mandates the deduction of forty additional points from your House total."  
  
"What?? But, Headmaster!"  
  
"Just deal with it, my boy. Don't you have another class starting shortly?"  
  
Stunned into silence, Sirius Black nodded.  
  
"I appreciate your coming in for our talk," Dumbledore sighed, patting the young man on the shoulder. "Do what you can to get along with the other Slytherins, too. After all, you're classmates, not enemies."  
  
Sirius gave Albus a curt nod, then turned and walked out the door.  
  
"Don't be too sure of that, sir," he murmured to himself as the gryphon staircase made its short descent. 


	4. Ch 4 It Had to be You

Chapter 4 – It Had to be You  
  
"Oh, come on, Evans!" James Potter said in his best "I really know you're joshing" voice. "They're just jokes, you know. Nothing bad really happened to the little geek."  
  
"That is utter crap, Potter," she snapped back in a voice so loud that he jumped in his seat. "He could have been killed in those woods. And if it hadn't been for the Headmaster, he probably would have been carried out in a box. How can you be so – evil?"  
  
James hadn't stammered since the fourth grade. He stammered now. "I'm not evil! Please! I – I – I – don't think that - - "  
  
"That's right, Potter. You don't think, do you? I don't like bullies. That boy has enough problems. Gods, you and your so-called pals have been tormenting him for years. One of these days he's either going to jump off Slytherin Tower or he's going to hex you good, and with some real Dark magic, too. And I won't blame him when he does."  
  
James looked up to see Sirius Black striding towards their table.  
  
It had been a serious strategic mistake to break eye contact with Lily, because it made him appear even more insensitive than he felt.  
  
"Oh, well, excuse me if I'm taking up too much of your time with your mates, Potter!"  
  
"No, Lily! Hold on – "  
  
"No thank you. Frankly, I'm sick to death of you and your piggy, insensitive friends, James," Lily Evans spat. "I want nothing to do with you – or your buddies."  
  
James Potter sat, mouth agape, transfixed with disbelief, watching Lovely Lily as she spun on her heels and walked smartly out of the Great Hall, skirt hem twitching.  
  
He felt his lunch souring in his stomach.  
  
"What's the problem, Prongs?" said Sirius Black, the very soul of self- possessed confidence.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Potter retorted. "This whole thing with Snivelly is coming very close to fouling up my love life."  
  
"Excuse me? What love life? Have you been holding out information on me, Potter?" He playfully punched James in the upper arm.  
  
"Ouch," he cranked.  
  
Sirius casually tossed his books onto the table. "Hey, guess where Snivelly is! Did you hear that I put him back in the Hospital Wing?"  
  
"You did WHAT?"  
  
"Nasty little punk mouthed off to me. So I used his face to clean part of the corridor wall a while ago!" Sirius suddenly realized he didn't much care for the look in his friend's eyes. "Hey, he asked for it – even tried to pick a fight. Can you believe it?"  
  
James sat there, staring at his best friend. "Oh, please don't tell me you did anything else to him, Padfoot. Aren't we in enough hot water because of that little snake?"  
  
"He'll get over it," Black said. The Great Hall was almost empty as lunch was over and the afternoon classes had already begun. "No big deal, James; really."  
  
"Did you get in trouble?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. "The Headmaster talked to me for a few minutes. We lost a few more points."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Um. Forty."  
  
"WHAT? FORTY FREAKING POINTS? Are you out of your head, Black?"  
  
"We were behind anyway. No biggie. We'll recoup!" He fixed James with one of his best dazzling grins; it worked on Potter about as well as the one he'd given to Dumbledore, however.  
  
"I don't believe this, Pads," James said in a dead tone of voice. "I don't believe this. And I don't believe you, either."  
  
Without another word, James gathered up his books and strode out of the Great Hall, leaving the charter member of the Sirius Black Fan Club sitting all alone.  
  
------------------------  
  
Lily had made her way cautiously and quietly to the Hospital Wing. She knew that Nurse Pomfrey guarded her charges vigilantly, and the girl knew that any overt attempt to talk to Severus Snape would be vigorously resisted.  
  
She watched Pomfrey walk down the corridor on some errand or another. Quickly and silently, she tiptoed over within eyeshot of the sole occupied bed on the floor.  
  
The kid looked just awful. Lily knew that Snape wasn't any sort of athlete or anything, but she also knew that normal skin tone shouldn't be so ghastly pale. His black hair lay in stark contrast to it, draped carelessly across the white pillow. He had dark circles under his eyes and appeared to be asleep.  
  
Lily heard the sound of two sets of footsteps approaching rapidly. As quick as she could, she raced behind the door of a nearby linen closet.  
  
"Here he is, Mrs. Snape. He's doing about as well as we can expect just now."  
  
"Will he be all right?"  
  
"Oh, certainly! Don't you worry. We'll take good care of him for you."  
  
Lily held her breath and peeked in between the door and its hinges. She saw a tall, slender, and rather pretty black-haired woman, whose eyes were as smudged beneath with worry and stress as her son's.  
  
"I'll just leave you for a few minutes, then," Pomfrey told her.  
  
The woman – obviously Severus' mother – reached out and took the nurse's hand. "Thank you for your kindness to my boy," she sighed, very close to tears. "I so appreciate it."  
  
Nurse Pomfrey nodded, smiled, and then went about her business. Lily stood very still, trapped where she stood, feeling like the worst kind of intruder.  
  
Quite suddenly, the woman put her hands over her face and began to silently sob.  
  
"Mama?" said Severus.  
  
Seeing her son's dark eyes open undid her completely. "Oh, honey. I am so sorry. I'm so sorry for it all."  
  
He reached up and took one of her hands. "It's all right, Mama," he said. "You don't have to apologize to me for anything. It wasn't you who hurt me, you know."  
  
She smoothed his hair from his brow. "I should have taken you and left your father years ago. I was too afraid! I stood by and let him hurt you when I should have been getting you away to safety. I was selfish, and now you're the one who suffers for it. I'm so, so sorry!"  
  
Severus pulled himself up to a sitting position and patted his mother's back as she sobbed.  
  
"It's all my fault, my poor baby," the witch continued to weep.  
  
"No, it's not, Mama. You've never harmed me! Just think of all the times you took a beating so I wouldn't have to."  
  
"Neither one of us should have been beaten by that man," his mother hissed with sudden rage. "I should have left years ago, and taken you with me."  
  
Severus blinked back his own tears at this. His earliest memories were of loud voices, and thuds, and shouts, and pain, and the sound of his own despondent weeping. He raised his mother's chin and looked into her eyes. "Things aren't that simple, Mama," he said with a maturity beyond his years. "They never were. We've both survived it, haven't we? Don't cry, Mama. It's all right."  
  
She hugged her only child fiercely.  
  
"For me to realize that you're suffering here at school is hard, Sevi. I so loved Hogwarts. Your father wouldn't tell me exactly what happened, but said that you got into some sort of fight with a group of boys."  
  
Young Snape's eyes widened. So she didn't know of his shame!  
  
"That's right, Mama. I got into a fight. But I'm better now."  
  
"What happened to your nose, sweetheart?"  
  
"Well, it happened to connect with one of their fists. But you can believe me when I tell you I gave back twice of what I was given!" He gave her a brave smile, hoping desperately that she would believe the lie.  
  
She smiled tremulously back at him. "I'm so proud of you, baby. So very proud. My good boy."  
  
They held each other tight for a few moments.  
  
"I need to get back, Sevi. But I need for you to – well, promise me something."  
  
"What, Mama?"  
  
She had an odd expression on her face. "I need to know that you – that you won't – let those boys defeat you, honey; do you understand me?"  
  
He nodded, knowing full well that his mother meant to eke out a promise that he wouldn't kill himself.  
  
"Of course, Mama. Don't worry about me! Just take good care of yourself and that will make me happy!"  
  
Hands over her mouth, Lily Evans stood huddled behind the linen closet door in a paroxysm of embarrassment. She hadn't meant to intrude upon the privacy of this little family. Wiping the tears from her own face, she waited until both hugged each other in farewell, then quietly slipped out from behind the door and whisked down the corridor. 


	5. Ch 5 I Promise

Chapter 5 – I Promise  
  
Lily Evans waited for the pretty dark-haired woman to leave Hogwarts. She suspected that she would either walk or fly back to Hogsmeade to take either the Floo Network or apparate, so Lily would at least have a few minutes to talk with her.  
  
"Excuse me? Mrs. Snape?"  
  
Severus' mother looked at Lily with surprise and then approval.  
  
"Yes, dear?"  
  
"Hello – I'm – Lily Evans – "  
  
The witch smiled and took both of Lily's hands in her own. "You must be one of my son's friends! Tenebria Snape. I'm so pleased to meet you!"  
  
Lily felt like a heel.  
  
"Why, yes, I am. Might I walk a little ways with you?"  
  
"Of course you can; I'd be happy for the company. I came up here on a bit of a rush. Have you seen Severus up in the Hospital Wing yet? I was rather surprised that I didn't see any of his other friends there."  
  
"I haven't been up yet, but that's where I'm heading after my next class."  
  
"What are you studying, dear?"  
  
"I like Transfiguration and Charms the best so far," Lily replied, finding it easy to smile at this lovely woman.  
  
"Potions was my favorite. I think Sevi likes it too -- "  
  
"Mrs. Snape?"  
  
"Yes, dear?"  
  
"I – I just wanted to let you know that I'll be keeping an eye out for – Sevi. To make sure he gets back on his feet, and gets to meals, and all. I don't want you to worry needlessly."  
  
Lily bit her lip as she watched Mrs. Snape's eyes fill with tears of gratitude.  
  
"Oh, bless you, young lady! I worry about him. I worry about him so much. He was rather – well, we were rather isolated when he was growing up, and I don't want him to feel out of place."  
  
"He's fine, really. Don't worry, all right?"  
  
"How can I thank you?"  
  
"No need to, I guess. I – well, we all are happy to do it. And if you can excuse me? I want to get to my class before I land in too much trouble!"  
  
Mrs. Snape wrapped Lily in a hug. "Thank you, my dear. I feel so much better, having met you today!"  
  
"Well – you know what they say – 'a trouble shared is a trouble halved' – "  
  
"Bless you, young Lily."  
  
"I'll keep an eye out for him. I promise."  
  
Severus' mother smiled once again, then turned and made her way down the sidewalk in the direction of Hogsmeade.  
  
Lily was left, half dumbfounded by what she had said and done.  
  
"What on Earth have you gotten yourself into, Lily Evans?" she thought before she began her own walk to class, in the opposite direction.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Keep quiet!" Lily Evans hissed in Severus Snape's ear. "I just want to talk to you a minute, okay?"  
  
Severus had nearly jumped out of his own skin, first with surprise at having been taken off guard, and second with horror that beautiful Lily was seeing him in his pajamas.  
  
"What -- ?"  
  
"Listen. It's okay. I talked to your mother – "  
  
At this, Snape began to hyperventilate. "You – talked – to -- ?"  
  
"Your – mother. Yes. That's right. Now calm down; you look like I've scared you green."  
  
"You – have! What are you doing here, anyway?"  
  
"Well, that's real friendly of you, Severus. Calm down. Breathe normally. That's a boy. Calm. Thaaaaaat's it."  
  
She took one of his hands and patted it, and looked into his wide dark eyes with what she earnestly hoped was a soothing expression. He held onto the proffered hand for dear life.  
  
"I can only stay a minute. Pomfrey will probably throw me out straightaway. I just wanted you to know that I feel bad about what my fellow Gryffindors did to you. I'm sorry you're stuck up here all by yourself. Did you get a decent dinner?"  
  
"Horrible," Severus answered, still thoroughly shell-shocked by seeing the woman of his dreams while decked in probably the tackiest pair of pajamas in the Western Hemisphere. "I still don't understand why – "  
  
"As I was saying -- I talked to your mother when she was here."  
  
Severus went ice-cold inside for a moment, thinking that Lily shared the details of his recent ordeals with her. Then his face went scarlet, thinking that Lily beheld a bit more of him than pajamas would reveal.  
  
"Oh, don't be a fool, Severus. I didn't look at you yesterday, and I didn't tell your mum anything at all except that I would be sure to look after you -- so she wouldn't have to worry, you know."  
  
"Look – after – me?"  
  
"Has someone cast a Repetition Charm on you, or something? Stop repeating everything I say! Just be still and LISTEN!"  
  
Severus sat absolutely still, embarrassed to death over the pajamas but thrilled to death over holding Lily's hand.  
  
"My friends are idiots. I think that I was an idiot to say those things to you yesterday, after you called me a mudblood."  
  
"Um – I'm sorry for what I said, too."  
  
"Well – thank you for that. When one's parents put notions in our heads, it can be very hard to shake loose of them. Anyway, I think I made things worse for you by making fun of you the way I did, and I'm very sorry for it. That's what I wanted to tell you when I saw your mother coming in here with Pomfrey."  
  
"You – listened -- ?"  
  
"Yes, I did. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh, hey – it's all right – "  
  
Severus had dropped his head and she felt his warm tears plopping onto her hand, still firmly in his grasp.  
  
"Sev – listen – everybody has troubles at home, you know. There's things about my own family that I'd rather choke than tell people about – My own sister hates me....."  
  
The boy shook his head. "Nobody has troubles at home like I do, Lily."  
  
"You don't have to feel ashamed. It's not your fault, you know. We don't pick our parents – or our siblings."  
  
His whole body had tensed. She knew he wouldn't look up and meet her eyes if his life depended on it.  
  
With that, Lily's own shame at her own behavior the other day caught up with her, and she began to cry in good earnest herself. How much was for her and how much was for this strange boy next to her, she had no clear idea. Lily put her arm around him, and held him in a warm embrace.  
  
"What the -- ?" hissed Poppy Pomfrey, descending upon the two teenagers like Doom. "Miss Evans! What on Earth are you doing here? Severus! Let go of that girl's hand before you cut off the circulation entirely! Explain yourselves!"  
  
Sev just shook his head, without looking up. Lily straightened, using her newly-liberated hand to brush her red bangs out of her line of sight. "I was just telling Sev here how sorry I am that my friends are idiots."  
  
Pomfrey fixed her with a gaze, and several seconds' time passed. "Well, that proves to me that you have more of a head on your shoulders than I originally reckoned. Now that we've had this little talk, shall we go back to do some studying, Miss?"  
  
Lily gave her a faint smile. "Oh, sure. Yes. I was just checking to see if Sev needed anything before I left."  
  
The boy gave her a look that she couldn't quite read.  
  
"I'll just – be on my way, then, ma'am."  
  
"Please, Miss Evans. And if you see Mr. Black in your travels, tell him that it might behoove him to come up here and confess to idiocy as well."  
  
Both Severus and Lily smiled at this.  
  
"Well – goodbye, then," said Lily. She felt a jumble of emotions – fear, pride, pity, anger, and admiration – that all passed through her in seconds. Turning on her heel, she walked briskly down the corridor.  
  
Nurse Pomfrey waited until she heard the big doors slam. She turned to Severus Snape. She cupped his chin with one hand and smoothed his hair with the other. "A person can't do great things without friends, child," she said. "I'm glad you have at least one good one. Now, how does that nose feel?"  
  
---------------------- 


	6. Ch 6 Lily's Experiment

Chapter 6 - Lily's Experiment  
  
"Snape! Snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaape!"  
  
"WhhaaaAAAAT?"  
  
"There's some Gryffie girl out here pounding on our door!"  
  
Severus Snape gasped. His newly-found acquaintance (his one and only true friend at Hogwarts had recently transferred to Beauxbatons) was already proving to be as good as her word.  
  
"Come on! Let's go!" Lily Evans shouted. "We don't want to be late!"  
  
Sev came tumbling out the Slytherin door, shoes untied and hair unbrushed. Two of his textbooks fell on the floor at her feet, spilling a fan of folded and ragged parchments.  
  
"Looks like we had a late start this morning!" Lily remarked, scooping up the volumes.  
  
"I'm not very organized," he replied, tripping over his shoelace and stumbling into her. He blushed bright scarlet. "Pardon," he murmured.  
  
"Here," she said, shoving the books into his hands. "Let's go!" Grabbing Severus by his Slytherin tie, she yanked him out the door, nearly asphyxiating him.  
  
Two Slytherin classmates watched with puzzled looks on their faces. "When did the Headmaster get Sev a keeper?" one asked the other.  
  
--------------  
  
"Can't you hurry?" Lily cried, dragging her charge into the Great Hall. "The House Elves will be taking this food off the tables in a few minutes!" She flung Sev in the direction of the Slytherin table, where the remains of the meal vanished as he watched.  
  
"Wait!" Severus yelled, pouncing on a roll.  
  
"Quick!" Lily shouted, pointing. "Eat that! You need to keep up your strength!"  
  
Snape gagged down half a roll and two swallows of milk before Lily dragged him bodily down a corridor and pushed him through the door and into his first class. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the Slytherin/Gryffindor Potions Lab.  
  
Quite unintentionally, both interrupted Professor Sartoris' introductory remarks to the class. Sheepishly apologizing, Severus first tripped over his shoelace, then stumbled over to a lab desk, grasping it for dear life.  
  
"NO! Sit over here with me," Lily hissed.  
  
"What a total spaz," Sirius Black muttered.  
  
"Sit here!" Lily commanded.  
  
"Leave off!" Severus hissed back.  
  
"I told you I'd partner you! Don't be such a baby! I promised your mother I'd look after you, and I intend to do it!"  
  
"What about his mother?" said one Slytherin.  
  
"Did she just call Snips her baby?" said another.  
  
There was a horrified silence from the assembled Gryffindor students. Lily had committed a ghastly breach of etiquette by choosing a Slytherin as her partner.  
  
"What the deuce is Evans doing with Snivelly?" an aghast James Potter asked Remus Lupin.  
  
"The Dark Arts Tango?"  
  
"Very funny."  
  
"Well, how the deuce should I know?"  
  
"So much for your big alleged love life, Prongs," Sirius Black whispered. "Looks like Evans will have splinters under her fingernails from scraping the bottom of the barrel."  
  
"Oh, shut up," James spat. "Can't be! It's too hideous!"  
  
"Just look at him," Sirius said with a high-voltage sneer. "As attractive as a rotten toadstool. Utterly pathetic."  
  
Lily turned on Sirius, snarling. She then glanced at Severus, noting that Greta Bulstrode was angling toward him. "Sorry. Excuse me," she said, elbowing the girl out of her way and taking her place next to the bewildered Slytherin boy.  
  
"Excuse you nothing," Greta blustered. She was quite a lot bigger than Lily, and wanted Severus as her lab partner because he was particularly gifted at Potions and didn't mind doing most of the work. "Sev is my partner."  
  
Lily bared her teeth at her. "Back off, you cow," she growled, perhaps more loudly than she intended. Professor Sartoris came over to see what was wrong.  
  
"Is there a problem?" he asked.  
  
"No sir," said Severus. "It's just that I have a new lab partner today." Greta shot him a look full of hurt. Severus didn't care if she gazed at him crosseyed for an hour; she rather scared him, anyway. "That's all right, isn't it?"  
  
Professor Sartoris was somewhat mystified, but smiled and nodded. "It's unusual to have a Gryffindor/Slytherin partnership -- but certainly!" The Potions Master was a sweet-natured man who didn't take House rivalries too seriously anyway.  
  
Greta picked up her books and slammed them down next to Seth McElwain, who jumped. "I didn't fancy Snape as a lab partner anyways," she hissed loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't want my report to be soaked in grease."  
  
Severus ducked his head at the insult. Lily did not, turning on Greta like an avenging fury. "Look here," she said, getting right under the big girl's moon face. "There's no need for that! You're a great lumpy thing yourself, you know."  
  
"Let's get started," Sartoris announced, intending to douse this conflagration before it engulfed his dungeons.  
  
------------  
  
Both James Potter and his lab partner Sirius Black continued to stand transfixed, spending most of the class period analyzing the bizarre new liaison between Greasehead and Lovely Lily.  
  
"What do you make of it?" James said.  
  
"Dunno, but it makes my skin crawl," Black replied.  
  
"Let's get to work," Professor Sartoris announced.  
  
"Yes, sir. Hey Prongs."  
  
"What, Pads?"  
  
"I see something sliiiiiiiiiimy."  
  
Lily, who had overheard this unkind remark about Severus, turned to tell off Sirius Black when she realized he had just spoken through a proboscis.  
  
There was a muted sound of laughter from the Slytherins.  
  
"Sev! Did you do that?" Lily hissed into her lab partner's ear.  
  
"Do what?" he replied, tossing his hair from his face. "Get busy with those boomslang skins!"  
  
In the meantime, the other Marauders had seen what had happened to their compatriot's face and nearly laughed themselves into spasms.  
  
"Lookatcherfacemate!" James managed to whisper, convulsed.  
  
"Sev, teacher is looking!" hissed Morgana Waite, Slytherin. "Do change it back!"  
  
With a hardly-noticeable wave of his left hand, Severus restored Black's face the way it had been, a trace of a smirk on his own.  
  
*Humor? Severus? Is such a thing possible?* Lily thought.  
  
"Hee haw," said Sirius Black to his lab assistant.  
  
"Oh gods, Sev!" shrieked Morgana Waite, elbowing him in exasperation. "Will you just STOP it! We'll just lose some more House points!"  
  
"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" Severus said rather loudly. "The Gryffs are dead last."  
  
"Only because we -- " James began.  
  
Lily whirled, turning on him with a vengeance, accusing finger pointed dead at his heart. "James Potter, don't you DARE say anything about what happened the other day!"  
  
"Evans!" he gasped, wounded.  
  
"One word -- only half a word -- and I'll never speak to you again!"  
  
"HEEEEE haw," Black repeated, horrified.  
  
Another chorus of titters from the Slytherins.  
  
"Is there a problem, Mr. Snape?" asked the Potions Master.  
  
"Not at all, sir," Severus replied, the epitome of manners. "If Black's making sounds like an ass, it's not my doing," he announced calmly.  
  
It was too much for his lab partner, who clapped her hand over her mouth so hard she nearly knocked herself reeling, strangling her own laughter into severely distorted squeaks.  
  
"That's ten points from Gryffindor," Professor Sartoris noted. "And ten points from Slytherin, while I'm at it."  
  
"Hee haw," said Sirius Black.  
  
------------  
  
Severus had restored Black's voice after forcing Potter to ask "pretty please with sugar on it." The lab proceeded pretty much as it usually did for the last twenty minutes of class.  
  
"That's just disturbing, Padfoot," James said, crushed. "Look! She's even smiling at the greasy git!"  
  
"Too right she is," Greta Bulstrode added, commiserating him. "Want to partner me, next lab?"  
  
"No."  
  
Sirius Black wore a cagey expression. Dumbledore's edict still stood; he would have to be careful. All of a sudden, his face regained its confident smile. Class having been dismissed, Black and James pushed through the group of students leaving the Potions Lab.  
  
"Have a nice day, girls," Black said to Snape and Lily.  
  
"Don't, Sev!" the redhead warned, lowering his wand hand with her own. "Don't take the bait."  
  
-----------  
  
Lily first suspected, but then knew for a certainty, that Severus was trying to distance himself from her.  
  
"Wait, Sev!"  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I'm not your charity case."  
  
"Nobody said you were!"  
  
He suddenly stopped short, turning on Lily with an expression of exasperation. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Because I told your mum I'd look after you!"  
  
"I don't need looking after!"  
  
"I beg to differ."  
  
"Differ if you like. Do you know how embarrassing this is for me?"  
  
"Yes, but I don't care."  
  
"Obviously. Lily, I don't need you hanging around me."  
  
"You most certainly do," she retorted. "You stay by yourself far too much."  
  
"And you think if you hung out with me, I'd fit in more -- "  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'd be happier, get along better -- "  
  
"That's right!"  
  
He whirled around, his face only inches from hers."Then you're a bigger fool than I ever dreamed possible, Lily Evans. Don't waste your time. Go back to your Gryffie friends. That way you can all make fun of me like you did as far back as -- um, when was it? Yesterday?"  
  
She saw a liquid shimmer in his dark eyes and recognized them as incipient tears before he strode off in the opposite direction.  
  
For the next few minutes, she felt like crying herself.  
  
--------------  
  
Lily didn't see Severus again until dinner. He came in toward the end, bookbag still looped around his shoulder. His hair was tangled, and one sock hung dispiritedly around an ankle. His face was unreadable, as it usually was.  
  
"Why were you being nice to that creep today, Lily?" asked Waleia Wanyee.  
  
"He's not a creep, Waleia."  
  
"Of course he is, Lily. Are you doing charity work for extra House points?"  
  
"Why don't you shut your head, Waleia?"  
  
The girl's mouth closed with a snap. With a little exclamation of disgust, she turned away from Lily.  
  
"All right there, Evans?" James Potter ventured.  
  
"Shove it, Potty," she replied.  
  
She looked up when she didn't get the response she anticipated. Potter and Black were looking across the dining hall with odd expressions on their faces. Oh --  
  
no --  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
There was a loud explosion. The students shrieked. The teachers all rose at the same moment. Lily's hands flew to her mouth.  
  
" -- over at Slytherin's -- " one of Lily's classmates exclaimed.  
  
How did she know exactly where to turn, exactly who to look for?  
  
The Headmaster and three other professors now hurried to the Slytherin table, their facial expressions an odd mix of anger and pity.  
  
Was that Severus they ran toward? Of course it was. Lily knew it would be, somehow.  
  
The teachers backed away, pushed back by something unseen. Lily stood on her bench, trying to see around all the heads, all the arms, all the bodies who stretched out between her and Severus Snape.  
  
She saw him now, in the middle of that invisible circle. His shirt was nearly burned off, his face smudged with carbon. He had his wand in his hand --  
  
NO SEVERUS! Lily screamed as loudly as she could --  
  
The tattered form of the dark and damaged Slytherin child seemed to radiate a force of its own.  
  
WHAT THE HELL??? another Gryffindor shrieked.  
  
Lily turned on James and Sirius. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM, YOU BASTARD? Lily screamed, pointing her finger, her accusing finger, right at the heart of Sirius Black.  
  
Everyone fell silent to hear the spell that came from Snape's bleeding mouth, just as they knew it would --  
  
Anál nathrach  
  
orth' bháis's bethad  
  
do chél dénmha   
  
The amorphous shape streaming from his wand and congealing above his head looked black and poisonous. Students now poured toward the huge double doors, fists pounding against it and their voices crying out when they would not open. A subaural growl issued from what served the demon as a head. Static electricity puffed out the hair of everyone within a hundred feet before the first bolt hit, that fire-red bolt that had sizzled the air it had passed through in a flaming arc, hit near Lily, hit right across from Lily, hitting the bench where Sirius Black and James Potter had been sitting only temporal moments before. It blew apart into a thousand splinters.  
  
Lily could no longer see Severus. She was instead looking -- all looked -- at the horror he had managed to conjure up from that secret store of Dark magic he kept locked a heart as battered as his body.  
  
BEGONE  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Dumbledore screamed, his own wand pulsing white energy into the thing, scalding it, hurting it, causing it to shriek in an ungodly roar. The White Wizard's voice soared above every other sound in the Great Hall, echoing from every surface and rebounding again and again until one word seemed to blend into the next.  
  
INTO THE PIT I CAST YE FORTH  
  
I CAST YE INTO THE PIT OF THE DAMNED  
  
I CAST YE INTO THE CIRCLE OF FLAMES  
  
I CAST YE INTO THE ABYSS  
  
I CAST YE OUT  
  
A sudden implosion deafened everyone in the Great Hall. Hogwarts students collapsed on the floors, collapsed on top of each other, clutching their ears, crying out in their confusion and pain and fear.  
  
When the silence finally fell, as everyone knew it would, only one voice still cried.  
  
Lily instinctively knew whose it was, just as surely as she knew that Albus Dumbledore had enfolded its owner in the protection and safety of his arms. 


	7. Ch 7 The Cry of the Phoenix

Chapter 7 – The Cry of the Phoenix  
  
Young Severus Snape had been taken immediately from the Great Hall and the student body calmed.  
  
His parents had been owled, of course; Dumbledore wondered why neither had arrived at the school. He had suspected that Severus' father would easily be able to keep his wife from coming, but Dumbledore had thought Maledictis Snape would be here long before now.  
  
Dumbledore had been too afraid to put Severus in the Infirmary, whether for the boy's own safety or for the safety of others he wasn't sure. And so, he had kept Severus right by him. Although the boy hadn't spoken a word since the incident, Dumbledore felt that his own presence was comforting to him. In fact, the child had hardly left his side since the conjuring. A continuous stream of tears had trickled down the boy's face during most of that time, and he held his hands before his face as he usually did to ward off his father's blows.  
  
It had been a quiet day so far. The Headmaster now sat with Severus quietly on a settee in his office; he had, of course, notified the Ministry of Magic. The House Elves were busy putting the Great Hall to rights, and a special meal was being planned to comfort students whose last association with the place had been fear and confusion.  
  
A prickle of alarm shot up the old wizard's spine. Within seconds, Dumbledore heard a clamor outside his office. Immediately, Fawkes the Phoenix trilled an alarm.  
  
Minerva McGonagall slipped into the room seconds later, agitated out of her customary self-possession. "It's the Minister himself, come for poor Severus," she cried.  
  
At once, Severus Snape wailed and hid his face in Dumbledore's robes.  
  
The Headmaster stood, bearing the weight of years, power, and dignity. "Cornelius," he said, acknowledging the rather short man who stepped into his office. He was ringed by Aurors.  
  
"Albus," Fudge returned. "We are here to escort the Snape boy first, to Ministry Headquarters to ask him some questions about the Dark magic he used last night, and second, to restore him to his father's custody."  
  
Dumbledore used every bit of his self-restraint he possessed to keep from gasping out. So that had been Snape Senior's treacherous game!  
  
The boy clung to him, shaking as if he had been possessed by seizures. "No," he moaned in the extremity of his fear. "No, oh please."  
  
"I'm sorry, Cornelius," said the Headmaster, his arm firmly around the lad's thin shoulders. I absolutely refuse to hand this child over to your – or his father's -- control. The second I do, he will be lost for good and all. I'm certain that Ministry questioning would frighten him deeply, and what good there is in Severus will be beaten out of him by his father."  
  
Severus clung to him, moaning in fear.  
  
Dumbledore raised his chin. "I am confident beyond a moral certainty that this is what will happen. Therefore, Cornelius -- I cannot let you take him."  
  
"I'm sorry, Albus, but this letter from the boy's father authorizes such action, and ensures that he will be returned to his home as soon as our inquiries are finished. Your authority must yield to his. You know this, Albus!"  
  
Three of the Aurors stepped forward. One seized Severus' thin arm.  
  
"Get your hands off him immediately!" Dumbledore roared, the atmosphere in the room becoming heavy with ancient magic. The Auror cried out as a powerful force uncurled his fingers.  
  
Cornelius Fudge shook his head. "If you defy the Ministry, Albus, we will have to bring in the Dementors to enforce the law and return this boy to his family."  
  
"To his father, perhaps," Minerva snapped. "Never his mother. His mother would never agree to such a travesty!"  
  
"I must insist," Cornelius Fudge repeated, giving Professor McGonagall a stern look.  
  
"Albus! Don't let him go!" Minerva pleaded. "No good can come of it!"  
  
The Headmaster's entire being seemed to shrink.  
  
"I'm afraid, Minerva, that I must comply for the moment. I cannot risk having Hogwarts exposed to Dementors. The deleterious effect they would have on our entire student body would be tragic." He shook his head. "No, I cannot have the Dementors here."  
  
Dumbledore turned to Severus, whose eyes were wild with terror.  
  
"I'm sorry, child. Although I will allow you to go with the Minister, I promise and vow to you that I will come for you personally, and will bring you back here with us."  
  
Horror-struck, Severus began to cry a low keening wail that shattered the old wizard's heart. It took four Aurors to disengage the child's hands from Dumbledore's robes.  
  
"NO! PLEASE! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME!"  
  
Albus Dumbledore began to cry, a sight that shocked everyone in the room. "I promise I will come and get you, Severus," the old man wept.  
  
Nodding his farewell, Cornelius Fudge turned and headed for the door, motioning the Aurors to follow him. The boy whose arms were pinned by their own tried to pull away. Turning to Dumbledore in a last act of desperation, Severus Snape began to shriek."OH PLEASE! OH NO! FATHER! HELP ME!"  
  
"FATHER! FATHER! FATHER!" he screamed, fighting the Aurors to reach for Dumbledore.  
  
It was then when the old wizard broke down entirely.  
  
The heavy warded door of the Headmaster's Office closed with a slam, and the sound of the boy's cries were joined by the keening song of Dumbledore's Phoenix. 


	8. Ch 8 The Ministry of Magic

Lily Evans rolled over, sighed, and sat up very slowly.  
  
Dizzy, she blinked a few times, and then looked around the infirmary to see if any of her classmates were still there.  
  
She had a vague recollection of seeing five of her Gryffindor classmates here in the Hospital Wing, they – like she – having had wood splinters removed via Nurse Pomfrey's tedious, painful, yet thorough process. She seemed to remember Sirius Black whining about it, particularly because the wooden shrapnel had mostly affected his rear end.  
  
Was that Nurse Pomfrey over there?  
  
"Where is everyone?" Lily said in a slightly hoarse voice. Yes, she now remembered. She had been screaming at one point.  
  
"Discharged, Miss Evans," Pomfrey returned smartly. "Discharged. As you will be in a few moments."  
  
"Why am I the only one here?"  
  
Nurse Pomfrey paused for a moment in her whirl of task-accomplishment. "Because you – unlike the others who sat around you – were particularly distraught about what happened to your friend. Am I correct in assuming Severus Snape is still your friend?"  
  
Lily felt slightly offended by this question, but knew the efficient and occasionally tactless healer well enough to let it go. "Of course he's still my friend. What happened wasn't his fault."  
  
"I gave you a sleeping potion to help settle you down."  
  
"Severus. What happened to him?" Tears started to cloud Lily's vision.  
  
Pomfrey lay her tray down with a sudden clang. "The Minister of Magic and his Aurors came and fetched the boy a few hours ago. He was shrieking and crying for the Headmaster, calling him 'father' instead of that monster who truly holds the title. The whole scene sent chills down my spine, I can tell you. Why they couldn't have let that child stay here for interrogation is beyond my comprehension."  
  
"Interrogation? Help me up!"  
  
"Wait a moment for your head to stop swimming, girl. I know what the aftereffects of my potions are!"  
  
"Oh – all right, then. Sev didn't mean to do that," Lily sighed, turning so that her legs dangled over the side of the bed. "He just got – scared."  
  
"I agree, Miss Evans. The question remains, however – where did he learn to summon demons the way he did? It's certainly not in Hogwarts' curriculum. That rotter of a father is behind it all, unless I'm sorely mistaken. Now, let me help you sit up. There's a girl." Pomfrey gave an odd half-smile as she offered Lily her arm. "I don't suppose you're going to figure out a way to help your friend."  
  
"If you suppose that, you'd have supposed wrong. Now, where can I get out of these ridiculous cowboy pajamas?"  
  
----------------  
  
Cornelius Fudge and his Aurors had transported young Severus Snape to Ministry Headquarters first by horseless carriage, and then by floo. The boy had been allowed to use the facilities and then had been taken and left alone in a rather bare room that some – with more macabre and less trusting views of the world – might have called an interrogation chamber.  
  
He sat very still in his seat; he wasn't really there, after all. Disassociating was easy when you grew up as a battered child. In the midst of the worst of his father's tortures, Severus could will his spirit away for a little vacation – to a place where he could go swimming, perhaps, or read, or do anything other than endure more abuse. This little mental trick had saved his precious sanity. His father had been unable to crack his head open and stop him from it, at any rate.  
  
Right now, an onlooker would see a motionless and absolutely silent fifteen- year-old boy sitting in a ladderbacked chair, wearing a dirty and crumpled school gown and a pair of broken-down black shoes. Someone with more imagination – and with kindness in his or her heart, perhaps – would sense that this particular child was off climbing a tree on his parents' property, eating one apple after another.  
  
Too many apples had always upset Severus' delicate digestion, but you didn't have to trouble your head with such things when the apples were only imaginary.  
  
The door slammed open and Severus nearly jumped out of his skin, as he always did when anyone made a sudden move or a loud noise. Looking up, his worst fears were realized.  
  
"I daresay I'll be able to speak with my son in private?" commanded Maledictis Snape, shoving his travel cloak into the arms of the Ministry employee who had shown him up.  
  
"Absolutely, sir," the woman replied. "I'm sure that the Minister will be happy to sit down and speak with the two of you soon. I expect him shortly."  
  
Snape Senior growled, as if he had nothing to say about that, then waited until the door closed – softly, this time – behind him. He then pinned his only child with his merciless gaze.  
  
"What in the hell did you mean by it, Severus?" he said in his most intimidating tone.  
  
"It just – happened, Father. I'm sorry."  
  
"Sorry is what you are, boy. Sorry indeed. Just look what you've put us through! First, I find out that someone shucked you out of your underwear and put you on damned public display – how they could have separated you from your wand, I'm sure I can't understand – and then I'm told that you ran off into the Forbidden Forest. You know what's in those woods, boy! How dare you imply to anyone that you'd want to meet your end at your age!"  
  
"I see, Father. 'There's nothing wrong here, but don't tell anyone' –," Severus replied, knowing it was a mistake but being unable to help himself.  
  
His father's response to that little remark was a slap across the face. This knocked him off the chair and onto the floor.  
  
"Get up, you," Maledictis Snape snarled, scruffing the boy and sitting him back in the chair like a spiteful little girl replacing a doll in its chair at a tea party. "Do you have another smart remark for me?"  
  
Without looking up, Severus shook his head.  
  
"The Headmaster – the HEADMASTER, Severus – had to rescue you! I've never been so hideously embarrassed in my life. What did you mean by it, boy?"  
  
"I don't know, Father," Severus sighed. He refused to look at the man, and he refused to cry for him. His father enjoyed his tears, after all.  
  
"Well, we'll take care of that. Indeed we will, boy. You're transferring to Durmstrang for the fall term. I'll see to it personally."  
  
This was too much for Severus. As unhappy as he was at Hogwarts, he instinctively knew he would be even more so at Durmstrang. He wouldn't see Lily there. He wouldn't see Albus Dumbledore, either.  
  
"No, Father. Please!"  
  
"You've given me no choice, boy, after this last embarrassment. Conjuring up Belial? In the Great Hall? You have lost your mind after all!" The man suddenly darted across the room, seizing his son by the throat. "Dammit all, you listen to me. You listen to me well. I am not about to sit by and let you accuse us of teaching you the Dark arts. I want no Ministry inquiries, and neither does the Dark Lord. You are jeopardizing everything I've built for the last ten years, and I won't have it. I simply won't have it."  
  
Severus desperately tried to unpry his father's fingers from his neck. He heard a buzzing in his ears, and the room was starting to go black around the edges of his vision. "Fa – ther – stop – "the child gasped.  
  
"Keep your damned mouth shut about it, is all I'm telling you. I don't care where you tell them you learned how to do it. Tell them you broke into the Restricted Section of the school library and read up on it. If you say one word that in any way implicates our family, then I swear that I will kill you, Severus."  
  
The boy moaned, and looked about wildly.  
  
"I will cut your throat myself. Do you understand?"  
  
Finally crying, Severus nodded weakly.  
  
"ANSWER ME!" Snape growled, cuffing him across the face once again. This time, Severus was ready. He had held onto the chair hard enough so that he wasn't knocked to the floor.  
  
"I understand, Father."  
  
"Swear on your mother's life, boy!"  
  
He looked up, his dark eyes huge with pain and swimming with tears. "Mother?"  
  
"SWEAR ON IT."  
  
Dropping his head, Severus nodded. "I swear on Mother's life," he whispered through his hurt throat. He desperately fought the panic that would have allowed him just to start screaming and never, ever stop. That such an oath was also an implied threat on his mother's life was crystal clear.  
  
"Wipe your damned nose. You make me sick. Here," Maledictis Snape chided, throwing a pocket handkerchief at his son. He turned suddenly, hearing someone outside the door.  
  
"Good day to you, Mr. Snape and Severus," said Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. 


	9. Ch 9 Miss Bludwyd's Tray

Ch. 9 Miss Bludwyd's Tray  
  
"Headmaster! May I see you?" asked Lily Evans, fairly hopping up and down in her oxblood loafers.  
  
Albus Dumbledore had been making his way to the head table. The food smelled good, and the Great Hall was beautifully decorated to help the students forget the scene that happened the evening before. "Of course, Miss Evans. What can I do for you?"  
  
"It's nothing that I want for me, Headmaster," the redhead said earnestly and in a low voice. "I have to find out where Severus was taken and then save him!"  
  
"Save him?" Dumbledore inquired.  
  
"Yes. If he's been taken to the Ministry of Magic, they could be beating him up, for all I know! I can't just let them take him away like that! He didn't mean what happened. I think his tongue just got away with him!"  
  
"I agree with you, Miss Evans. Here, let's talk more out here in the corridor – "He led her into a small hallway that ran adjacent to the kitchens.  
  
"Headmaster, I need to get to London."  
  
"London?"  
  
"To Ministry Headquarters!" Lily was so frustrated she could hardly restrain herself from hopping on one foot. "I'm not sure how to get there, but I'm sure you can help me figure out a way, being as concerned about Sev as I am -- perhaps even more so, since he called you his father."  
  
At this, Dumbledore gave a nearly imperceptible jerk. His blue eyes clouded in memory. "Yes, that's right. He was taken from Hogwarts against his will – against his will and mine as well, Miss Evans."  
  
"Well, will you help me?" she said earnestly.  
  
"I myself cannot. No."  
  
At this, she nearly screamed. But Dumbledore continued before she had the chance to speak again.  
  
"I would not be opposed to a very good friend of mine coming to Severus' assistance. I would suggest that you first enlist another student to help you. Then come to my office as soon as you can – say, within the half-hour. I will be there waiting for you. The password is "cherry mash."  
  
Lily was off in a shot. Sirius wouldn't help her, she knew that. He hated Severus far too much. But she knew that James was sweet on her. Who knows – it might end up being an adventure, on a number of levels.  
  
-------------  
  
"James Potter, if you won't help me right now, I will curse you for all eternity!"  
  
James stared goggle-eyed at the breathless and beautiful girl leaning over the dinner table gazing at him. He exchanged a quick glance with Sirius, then stood up.  
  
"Really, now, Evans? Don't hold back! Tell me how you really feel! You know I'm all ears."  
  
"And quite a bit mouth," Sirius added.  
  
"Shut your head, Black," Lily snapped. She grabbed James by the hand and hauled him out of the Great Hall, leaving his fellow Marauders alone and his dinner untasted.  
  
-----------  
  
"There's no time for me to explain. Severus has been taken to the Ministry of Magic and they could be torturing him, all I know! I've got to rescue him!"  
  
"Rescue him? Why you?"  
  
"Because I promised his mother I'd look after him. And now see what's happened! I can't give up now! Headmaster Dumbledore is going to help us get there!"  
  
"Get to where, Evans?"  
  
"To London, you cheesebrain! Hurry!"  
  
-----------------  
  
Both teenagers – rather breathless by now – stood in the Headmaster's Office. The faces from the portraits nearly surrounding them all offered their own cordial greetings. What distracted them the most, however, was Fawkes the Phoenix. He was sitting on his perch, gazing at the two children with his head cocked.  
  
"Oh, so lovely," Lily cooed. "What a beautiful thing you are. I've never seen a phoenix before. Have you, James?"  
  
"Nope. Just know ravens, robins, and songbirds."  
  
Lily was delighted when Fawkes stepped upon the finger she offered. Amazed at the solid weight of the large bird, she brought him closer to James, and both examined him.  
  
"Ah, I see you've already met your escort for tonight," said Headmaster Dumbledore, coming down the spiral staircase.  
  
"Our escort?" Lily said rather apprehensively.  
  
"Yes. You see, Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, my hands are tied in this matter. It appears likely that Severus will not be returning to Hogwarts if his father has his way. And Severus acts against his father's will at his peril."  
  
"He does?" Lily said, puzzled.  
  
"Surely you've noticed that our young friend has an inordinate number of bruises and injuries when he returns from holidays."  
  
Lily looked at James. "I don't know if I've ever noticed, sir, but are you telling us that his father thrashes him?"  
  
"Indeed, Miss Evans." Dumbledore looked over at James, whose eyes were on the floor. Of course James knew. Sirius used that knowledge to goad Snape, knowing he was embarrassed about it. "And so -- since Severus was met at the Ministry Offices by his father -- I suspect a rather painful father-and- son chat has already transpired. I don't believe that Severus will have any friend at hand to help him....except for the two of you, of course."  
  
"Excuse me, sir," James said. His stomach rumbled loudly. "I don't see how a couple of kids will be able to get past even the reception area at the Ministry!"  
  
"And that is how Fawkes can be of assistance. He has some rather miraculous properties, children. He has the gift of invisibility as well as transformation. He has as good a working knowledge of magic as many humans. And – for an animal nearly five hundred years old – he's developed a rather ingenious way of dealing with encumbrances like reception areas – "  
  
----------------  
  
"Ah, good day Minister," said Maledictis Snape. Quick as a cat, he moved his hands up to Severus' neck, and adjusted his school collar to cover the fresh bruises. "Or rather, good evening. Just making sure the boy looks 'just so' to greet the Minister of Magic!"  
  
A glare from his father convinced him to act as natural as he could, even though he was absolutely terrified inside. Severus relaxed his face into its usual lines of inscrutability. It was his primary defense against the world, and he was quite good at it.  
  
"I thought we could talk about what happened, Severus," Fudge said, motioning him and his father over to a table and chairs at the far edge of the room. "This won't be a formal hearing, for you are underage and we are not certain whether your activity constituted a crime. So have a seat, would you – and Mr. Snape too – there."  
  
Fudge gave an officious little throat clearing and signified by slapping his palms on the table that they were ready to begin.  
  
"Now, Severus, do you know the difference between a truth and a lie?  
  
"Yes."  
  
"If I was to say that your robes were white, would that be the truth or a lie?"  
  
"A lie."  
  
"That's right. That's very good, Severus. Very good indeed. We want to ask you some questions about what happened at Hogwarts last night. Your father will be allowed to remain here, although he will not be able to speak on your behalf, nor can you converse with him. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Asking questions on behalf of the Ministry of Magic is Mr. Alastor Moody. Miss Brunhilde Bludwyd will take down what he says to you, Severus, and what you say to her. Now then. Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Miss Bludwyd nodded, placing a tray on the table and seating herself. Alastor Moody – who had been literally lurking in the shadows in the corner of the room -- took his place at the table. He had one eye that appeared normal and another that was too large and rolled around in its socket in a very disturbing manner. It made Severus nervous, because he couldn't quite tell if Moody was looking at him, or looking somewhere else entirely. He supposed it didn't matter in the long run.  
  
"State your name for the record."  
  
"Severus Silanus Snape."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"I am fifteen."  
  
"Do you go to school?"  
  
"Yes, you know I do."  
  
"Please refrain from extraneous comments, young man."  
  
"Yes sir. I go to Hogwarts."  
  
"That's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, correct?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Are you a good student?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Have you studied Defense Against the Dark Arts, Severus?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Will you tell me the details, please?"  
  
"In my third, fourth year, and fifth year I studied it in a full-year course."  
  
"Are there any other courses that you have taken that explore what many refer to as the Dark Arts?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Do you like to read, Severus?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Have you ever read about the so-called Dark Arts – "?  
  
Miss Bludwyd was busily scribbling away. An efficient person, she had brought a fresh bottle of ink, ten or eleven blank parchments, a quill, and a spare. 


	10. Ch 10 An Escape and an Oath

Chapter 10 - An Escape and an Oath  
  
Half an hour had passed, and Cornelius Fudge regretted having that last cup of coffee.  
  
The questioning by Alastor Moody had been grueling; Severus had been profoundly grateful that he wasn't under oath. He had gone with his father's suggestion that the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library had been the source for his knowledge. Severus had known that Filch the caretaker had been away two weeks before to visit his mother, so the lie had worked out well.   
  
He was just a stupid kid in their eyes, after all. A stupid kid meddling in things that weren't to be meddled with. Severus was contrite. He even shed a few tears of regret over what he had done. His father's eyes glittered strangely at him. Fudge was placated, although Moody was not.   
  
"Well, well!" said Fudge. "Why don't we take ten minutes and stretch our legs?" At this, all three Ministry employees rose and worked the kinks out of their bones. Fudge looked at Snape.  
  
"We don't need to stretch our legs - do we, Severus?" Maledictis Snape said.  
  
"No, Father," the boy replied. Nearly all the hope he had of returning to Hogwarts -- even with the problems he had faced there -- was gone. He would have given a hundred galleons to see either Lily, his old friend Britomartis, or Albus Dumbledore just then.  
  
"Fine. Well, we'll see you in a few minutes, then." Moody, Bludwyd, and Fudge left the room.   
  
As soon as the door latch snicked, Maledictis pounced on his son like a ratter on a stoat. "It's a good thing you didn't open you mouth about the back anteroom at home," the man hissed. "Everything's been put there. It's warded, but not heavily. Unfortunately, I hadn't anticipated my son turning into a stupid, disgusting oaf, calling attention to us and ours. You did all right so far, boy, but best keep your wits about you. You wouldn't want that nose and ankle broken all over again, now would you?"  
  
"I want to go back to Hogwarts," Severus moaned. "Please, Father. I've done what you've asked. Let me have that one thing."  
  
At this, Snape reached over and grabbed his son by the hair, yanking him close. "Shut your head about that, you little whelp," he growled. "Durmstrang's the place for my little Dark wizard. It's just too bad that you didn't factor the family into your decision to blow our cover. Damned fool."  
  
Severus -- emboldened, perhaps, by the knowledge that people must have been outside somewhere -- took his father's hand and tried to pry it away from his forelock. Enraged, Snape Senior yanked him straight up and punched him in the stomach. "Whine again and you'll get worse, you worthless excuse for a son. Little bastard." He grabbed Severus by the throat again. "When I get you home, I'll beat you so roundly that you won't be able to to leave the Manor for a week," he promised.   
  
Severus tried very hard not to cry. The last few days had been trying -- that was true -- but Hogwarts was a far better home to him than his own had been. He would have given into despair but for the kind words Albus Dumbledore had given him last night and today. As long as Severus could cling to that, he knew he would make it through whatever torments the Ministry of Magic -- or his father -- had in mind for him.  
  
"Now," his father said, slamming him down in the chair again. "Wipe your damned snotty nose, boy. I'm going outside for a few minutes. You know better than to set foot outside this room. I'll make sure the door is watched, you can bet your life on it." With this, Maledictis Snape left the room.   
  
As soon as the door closed, the atmosphere above the table shimmered and a teenage boy and girl appeared, along with a large red and gold bird. The boy and girl lay prone on the table top, which was too short for James Potter, whose legs dangled a good three feet in the air beyond it.   
  
"Gah!" he spat. "I've got ink all over my head! Damn!"  
  
Lily sat up with a moan. "Glad that secretary didn't need that spare quill! Here, James, let me wipe some of that off." She raised the hem of her school gown, giving Severus a tantalizing glimpse of slender leg. "Good thing your hair is black. What a mess it would have made of my hair! Oh, hello, Sev," Lily said, turning around after taking care of James' ablutions. "Potter and I have come to rescue you. Fawkes here turned us into ... "  
  
"I know -- " Severus grinned. "Two quills and a parchment. I can see them missing from that woman's tray! Thank you so much! But how do we get out of here?"  
  
"Portkey," said Lily, picking up the ink bottle. "We couldn't apparate in here, nor keep our wands, but a Phoenix knows older tricks than anyone here has even dreamed of. Portkeys aren't allowed here either, but the Ministry's protections can't detect this one. It's well over fifteen hundred years old. That Fawkes is a resourceful bird, to be sure! Sev, get over here quick! I think I hear footsteps! Fawkes?"  
  
The bird bent his lovely head, and Lily slid the portkey -- formerly an ink bottle and now a simple amulet on a thin leather cord -- over his neck. James held onto Lily, Lily held onto Severus and the portkey.   
  
Within seconds, all four living beings winked out of existence.  
  
---------------------  
  
By mutual consent (they were all hungry, thirsty, and in need of someone fussing over them) they all ended up at James' home. Once Fawkes was given the family parakeet's cuttle bone and a drink of water, the teens had the time to clean out the Potters' refrigerator (not that Mrs. P wouldn't have enjoyed cooking for them!) and for James to lend Snape one of his old school robes. Using the family's floo portal, Severus had a rather nice and information-intense conversation with his mother.   
  
All three teens then spoke to James' parents about what they should do next, and all three had raced back to the kitchen (Mrs. Potter had just finished cleaning off the table; she hadn't seen food disappear that fast in decades) and drafted the following communique to the Ministry of Magic:  
  
"Dear Minister,  
  
We have reason to believe that a Dark wizard by the name of Confutatis Maledictis Snape has hidden a quantity of forbidden items in Snape Manor, North Yorkshire. Upon information and belief, they are behind warded doors in the back anteroom. The wards should yield to standard charms.   
  
Sincerely,   
  
A Friend"  
  
James raced out of the room to owl the message straightaway. He wasn't concerned that the owl could be traced, if one cared to. The Ministry had a lot of owl visitors.  
  
"I'm glad your mother has left to visit her brother," Lily said to Severus. "Even though it will be a surprise for him!"  
  
"It's best that Mother not be around when Father is -- how do the Americans call it -- busted. She won't be put in the position of resisting or inviting the Aurors inside."  
  
"You're a good son, Severus," Lily said solemnly.  
  
"I'm tired of the beatings. For her and for me. It really must stop."  
  
"You do realize your father could end up in Azkaban," James said, reentering the room.  
  
"Certainly I do," Severus said. "Best thing for him, actually. When he's there, he can't be pounding us. And thank you, James, for assisting. And your family for coming to my aid as well. I must say I never knew you'd do anything to help me."  
  
"Listen, Sev, I'm -- sorry about what I did. I had realized it was wrong by the time dinner rolled around night before last. Frankly, I thought you were going to snuff yourself."  
  
"I wanted to, but the wild beasts of the Forbidden Forest decided to go on a mass diet."  
  
"Fifteen is too young to die," Lily said.  
  
"It depends on your point of view," Severus replied solemnly.   
  
James looked at him. "Anyway, I apologize. I can't do anything about my friends, I suspect, but I won't harm you again. What I saw your father do to you in that Ministry office made me sick, and I know that's only a glimpse of what you've suffered over the years. What we -- we Marauders -- did to you was every bit as wrong."   
  
Severus blinked hard and nodded. "I'll foreswear any retaliation. Thank you."  
  
"If you're in earnest, you boys can take the Wizards' Oath, then," said Lily, crossing her arms and glaring at James.  
  
"Do you know it?"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Where's your Standard Book of Spells"?  
  
"Hang on! I'll fetch it."  
  
James sprinted out of the kitchen. Both heard him stomping up a flight of steps. Snape turned to Lily.   
  
"You fancy him."  
  
Lily looked into his dark eyes.   
  
"It's all right," Severus said with a rueful smile. "I think he fancies you as well. Nobody fancies me."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Sev. Putting yourself down is like what your father always did to you. Try not to do it to yourself; there's no need for it." She then reached over and hugged the Slytherin. He fought the urge to cry. He'd never felt lonelier or more left out in his life. "You'll do well enough, Sev," Lily concluded. "We're only fifteen. My mother says it's much too early to think of romance anyway. You should see the great lump my sister Petunia has on the hook!"  
  
"Is he a whale?" Severus grinned.  
  
"At least," Lily chuckled. "Most boring git I've ever listened to. He's obsessed with industrial drills. And speaking of boring gits, where is Potter?"   
  
Both heard large feet stomping down the stairs.  
  
"Here I am," James panted. "Took me forever and a day to find the forty-fifth edition."  
  
"The forty-fifth is the Encyclopedia Britannica of the Wizarding world," Lily explained to Severus.  
  
"All right then," said James, rejoining the two at the Potter's kitchen table. "Here it is. Wizards' Oath. What we'd do is promise to defend one another, and this obligation would continue for our descendants. Are you game, Sev?"  
  
"Definitely," the Slytherin replied. "I'd be happy to take it. And you don't have to pretend to be my friend at school. We move in different circles, and I know that your mates think I'm dirt."  
  
"Black, mostly," James said. "Remus is a kinder soul than any of us. And Peter -- well, Peter goes with the crowd."  
  
"Are you going to keep yammering at each other? We have to get back yet tonight! Dumbledore is expecting us."  
  
Sev's mouth quivered. "Dumbledore! I thought I'd never get to see him again."  
  
"He's a better father to you than your own, nasty piece of work that he is!"   
  
James looked at them quizzically.  
  
"The oath?" Lily said. "Earth to James Potter?"  
  
"Oh -- right -- " James said, turning to the correct section. "Here it is. Let's do it!"  
  
------------------------  
  
"Where the hell has that boy gone?" Maledictis Snape roared, causing Miss Bludwyd to give a little shriek and to ignore the apparent dimunition in her office supplies. "I know for a fact that he didn't open that door!"  
  
"Excuse me, Snape, but the lad has disappeared? Impossible!" Fudge said, not really caring as it was getting late and his wife was holding supper over for him. A nice beef brisket it was, too.  
  
"Don't be too surprised, sir," Moody hissed to the Minister, pulling him out of the irate Snape's hearing. "The father's no good, and the son's worse." he whispered, his rogue eye rolling crazily in its socket. "That boy is a sly one, a real lying little Slytherin snake, I say. Neither one of 'em should be trusted. The boy most likely used his Dark magic to get past our wards and charms."  
  
"Well," Fudge sighed and turned to Snape, who was busy poking at the ventilation duct in the ceiling. "This hearing is temporarily adjourned."  
  
-----------------------  
  
Within the next half hour, Snape flooed his way to Hogsmeade and rented a broom. Once again, bullied his way into Hogwarts and demanded to meet with the Headmaster, even in the absence of an appointment.   
  
Within a few minutes, Albus Dumbledore met with him in his office.  
  
"I would like to know what happened to my son," Snape demanded.  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"My son! The whereabouts of my son! Have you gone daft?"  
  
"Daft? Well, I supposed that depends on your point of view. Personally, I find a certain degree of insanity lends vigor to a wizard's personality. The last time I saw your son was when the Minister of Magic showed up here with his Aurors. They took the boy away and I have not seen him since."  
  
"I demand to search the school, then!"  
  
"Certainly," Dumbledore responded. "Search away. You might want to keep a close watch on our ghost population -- they tend to become active after dark. There's also that three-headed dog, but if you stay well clear of the Third Floor he shouldn't be a problem -- "  
  
----------------  
  
"Ouch, blast it!" Maledictis Snape snarled as he ran into a student bench in the Great Hall. He carried a torch which had the tendency to nearly extinguish itself when a supernatural being passed through the flame.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, but can I help you?" a student's voice inquired.   
  
"You might at that. My name is Snape, and I am looking for my son."  
  
The boy would have known the man's identity instantly, even in the absence of an introduction. The man looked like an eagle with that hooked beak of his.   
  
It was Sirius Black, come back down to collect James Potter's books. "Ah, yes -- Severus. Well, I don't know where he is, but I do know that two of my Gryffindor classmates were trying to locate him earlier this evening."  
  
"Ah! Their names, please?"  
  
---------------  
  
Within an hour's time, Maledictis Snape had transported himself (the best he could in the land of the Muggles, at any rate) to the home of Lily Evans' family. Lily's sister Petunia - wearing a frilly apron embellished with pink poodles as she was fixing a treat of popovers for her oversized boyfriend -- took one look at the man's obviously evil visage and fainted dead away at his feet.  
  
"Well, I like that!" Snape growled.  
  
---------------  
  
By the time he had gotten to the Potter house and back home, it was quite late indeed. Cursing his rotten luck and vowing to throttle all three teenagers, he began to remove the wards securing the front doors of Snape Manor, only to find them already broken.   
  
With an oath he stepped into his entry hall, where he was greeted by a Ministry of Magic Auror and a Dementor, both ready to take him into custody for his numerous violations of the Dark Wizard Paraphernalia Sanctions Act of 1969.  
  
---------------- 


	11. Ch 11 So Mote It Be

Chapter 11 - So Mote It Be  
  
At around two o'clock in the morning, three teenagers apparated to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest (had it only been two days since Severus had prayed for death there?). Weary yet full of youthful adrenaline, they made their way to the entrance where they were nearly denied access (out of sheer cussedness rather than any regard for school rules) by Mr. Filch.  
  
Filch had alerted McGonagall; and Minerva – who had been fearful for their well-being during their absence -- whisked the children up the gryphon staircase and into Dumbledore's office, where that esteemed figure awaited them. Minerva went back downstairs intent on some errand or another, even at that late hour.  
  
The students blinked and looked around, especially when the Headmasters of Old shushed them from inside their frames.  
  
"Tut tut tut," said Dumbledore, nodding at the most vociferous of them. "Come now, Headmaster Crandall," he said. "Surely there were late-night emergencies back in the Fourteenth Century? Sit, children, by all means."  
  
With a gentle wave of his hands (he didn't need a wand, not Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard on Earth!) he transfigured several piles of stacked-up parchments into four handsome and plushly comfortable chairs. Severus, James, and Lily took their places, wondering for whom the fourth seat might be needed.  
  
Dumbledore sat behind his desk and surveyed them with a smile on his face and his fingers steepled. "I thought I would never live to see the day," he remarked, looking at Snape.  
  
"What, sir?" Severus returned, a bit apprehensive.  
  
" -- the day when our Slytherin friend donned Gryffindor apparel, of course!"  
  
Severus then remembered that he'd borrowed one of James Potter's outgrown school robes at home. It hadn't occurred to him that it bore Potter's house crest. Feeling relaxed and comfortable being joshed by the Headmaster, Severus grinned. "Hold on there, sir. I don't plan to make a habit of wearing Godrick Gryffindor's crest across my heart."  
  
"So much the loss for the Gryffindors at Hogwarts, then!" Dumbledore said, his own lips curving into a grin. "Well, now. I suppose you young ones are hungry again. Am I correct?"  
  
They all eyed one another wordlessly. Each had eaten a great deal at the Potters, but it apparently took a lot of energy to disapparate and apparate. Well, it was as good an excuse as another, and all three nodded. Within a trice, Dumbledore had summoned Gertie the House Elf, who was remarkably energetic even at this time of the morning.  
  
"Yesses, Headmaster, what can Gertie fetch you and the yungins?"  
  
"Fetch a nice plate of different kind of sandwiches -- "  
  
Dumbledore thought he saw a slight wrinkle in James Potter's nose.  
  
" -- and some nice pork chops with cinnamon applesauce -- "  
  
Lily's smile dimpled.  
  
" -- with different kinds of fresh fruits -- "  
  
Severus -- less socially adept than his peers -- simply sighed deeply.  
  
" -- and several trays of petit fours, tarts, and a four-layer chocolate cake with double chocolate icing."  
  
All three students grinned once again.  
  
"Isem that all, sir?"  
  
"That should do us -- and our guest. Ah, come in, Minerva and Mrs. Snape!" Severus spun in his seat, and beheld his smiling mother.  
  
"My Sevi liberated us -- ! Oh my baby, I do believe we'll be shut of him!" Crying, the tall darkheaded woman pulled her son up in a hug.  
  
"That's all right, Mama," he said. "It wasn't me who did it. It was my friends here -- James and Lily. If they hadn't stepped in and gotten me out of the Ministry of Magic, we never could have pulled it off."  
  
Mrs. Snape smiled, her large eyes tired but alight with joy. "My sweet Lily I know already. And this is James, is it?" The two shook hands. "I can't thank you enough. I'm so grateful for what you've done. It's like -- well, like being released from -- prison. For both Sevi and for me."  
  
"Kindly pull up a chair, Mrs. Snape," said Dumbledore, seating himself.  
  
"I do believe I'll retire, then," said Minerva with a wink.  
  
"You'll miss an enormous feed if you do," Albus replied. "That's assuming there will be anything left for the grownups!"  
  
McGonagall nodded and bid the guests adieu, and barely missed being knocked over by four House Elves laden with serving pieces and great platters of food.  
  
"Cor!" Sev said with great satisfaction.  
  
"You would think we don't feed these unfortunate youths," Dumbledore said to Tenebria Snape.  
  
"My Severus was never a great eater. But I'm glad Hogwarts is a great feeder nonetheless -- obviously so!" she returned.  
  
"Dig in, all," said Dumbledore, making a first assault on the chocolate layer cake.  
  
"Mama, what did they find in the back anteroom?"  
  
"All sorts of nasty things, child. Hand of Glory. Tincture of Belladonna, much too pure for any use other than poisoning. Skulls. Some crude wax dolls, dark moon symbols, and books on everything from demonology to blood magic. Ugh! And other things I'd rather not mention for fear of spoiling your appetites!"  
  
"When's the trial?" James asked, his mouth full of pork.  
  
"Fairly soon, according to the Auror who remained at the house awaiting my return. Things are quiet, yet the Ministry's of the belief that Dark witchery is more afoot now than it was even five or ten years ago. It's possible that they'll make an example of him."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence. James and Lily were largely unaquainted with Severus' history of abuse.  
  
"They can lock him in Azkaban for the rest of his natural life as far as I'm concerned," Sev said with an odd expression on his face. "All -- the beatings. All the -- "  
  
He began to cry. His mother wrapped her arms around him, letting him release his tension, anger, sadness, and great relief.  
  
"Things will be so much better for us, my baby. So much better. No more living in fear. Hey?" she lifted his chin and used the back of her hands to wipe his eyes. He nodded, and gave her a small smile.  
  
"I expect that you'll be given authorization over the Manor and its assets, ma'am," said Dumbledore.  
  
"Call me Tenebria, please! I can't thank you enough for your kindness and understanding, Headmaster."  
  
"You're very welcome, and make it Albus, then."  
  
"And I'm coming right back here to school, Mama. Father wanted me to transfer to Durmstrang. My heart nearly broke at hearing it."  
  
"We'd have missed Severus," Lily said, extending a hand and patting the boy on the back. Tenebria Snape caught her hand and kissed her fingers. "I'm so thankful for my Sevi's friends. Bless you both. You can't imagine what a burden you've relieved, now that I know he has the two of you to look out for him."  
  
At this, James dipped his head and pretended to reach for a napkin. Had it been this kind woman's son – this brutally abused boy -- whom he'd utterly humiliated only a day or two ago, and with such deliberate cruelty?  
  
"Mrs. Snape," he said. "I won't pretend to take credit for something I'm not -- or haven't been, at any rate. My friends and have played some rather disgraceful tricks on Sev. They started out as pranks that the House of Gryffindor would play on the House of Slytherin. But then it went beyond that. They weren't just pranks against Slytherins. They turned into pranks against Severus. And there were four of us, and only one of him. I can't apologize enough. Sev, I had no right to make you even more miserable than you -- well, than you already were, with your father, I mean."  
  
"It's all right, James," sighed Severus, hoping that his mother wouldn't start asking questions.  
  
"I won't ever do it again, you know," James Potter said. "I'll do what I can about the others, but I can't guarantee anything in that regard."  
  
"I understand."  
  
Mrs. Snape knew better than to interject in what was clearly a watershed moment between the two boys. She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin, and held her peace. Dumbledore watched the scene unfolding before him gravely.  
  
"They – James and Sev took the Wizards' Oath back at the Potters' house, you know," Lily said quietly, touching James' sleeve with affection and a bit of pride.  
  
At this, both adults smiled, and understood that even if things wouldn't be resolved among these students and their friends, they would at least be improved.  
  
-----------------  
  
The food ran out at about the chime of three. All rose and shortly gave one another their farewells.  
  
"Mama, will you wait for me downstairs?" said Severus. James and Lily nodded at him, then walked to the platform below the gryphon, joining Mrs. Snape.  
  
Once they had gone, Severus turned to Dumbledore. "You can't imagine what was going through my head earlier this evening, Headmaster. There I was, being shamed and belted around by my father, who was going to send me far away, never to come here ever again. I'm not very good at social things like thank-yous -- but I did want to let you know how happy I am to be -- "  
  
" -- to be Home, Severus?" He opened his arms, and the boy sighed and went to him.  
  
"Yes," he said. "Home for good and all -- "  
  
"You did me such an honor by calling me 'father' when they were taking you away, "said Dumbledore. "I don't believe I've ever received a greater one." Neither student or headmaster said anything else in that moment, for words were beyond them.  
  
And downstairs, Lily and James touched fingertips briefly, and with a touch of embarrassment.  
  
Tenebria offered prayers of thanks for the liberation of her son and herself.  
  
Severus soon joined her, and both walked down the chilly torchlit corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with more than a touch of weariness. It had been a very long couple of days, after all.  
  
---------------  
  
"My House shall honor your House  
  
For ever and ever without break or decay.  
  
When the hills are all flat  
  
And the rivers are all dry,  
  
When it lightens and thunders in winter,  
  
When it rains and snows in summer,  
  
When Heaven and Earth mingle--  
  
Not till then will I dishonor your House.  
  
So Mote It Be."  
  
- The Wizards' Oath  
  
---------------  
  
THE END 


End file.
